9-2-09 Inner Circle

I took the photos for this wee's Inner Circle at "Corvettes at Carlisle" last Friday (August 28th). The weather was threatening rain all day but held off until late afternoon.

In my opinion, some of the best buys were the 2002-2004 Corvette Z06s. You could have had your choice of any color or combination. Prices ranged from $22,500 to $29,500. One fairly common thing with Corvettes... most are low mileage. While a C5 Corvette is now between five and twelve years old (1997-2004), most have under 50,000 miles. You seldom see a neglected, beaten Corvette.

A 6-speed has the potential to deliver 28-32 mpg on the highway due to the rpms in 6th gear and the fact it weighs around 3,200 lbs.

PHOTO 1 - If you have a front half of a C5 Corvette convertible and a well-equipped efficient body shop, here is the back half to complete your project! It was for sale at the Corvettes at Carlisle event.

PHOTO 2 - This is an array of used Corvette parts I spotted at the Corvettes at Carlisle event.

PHOTO 3 - This was one super rare, original 1963 Corvette Split-window Coupe with a fuel injection engine. The price tag was $84,900. It only needed minor work to be totally restored.

PHOTO 4 - This is a real good reproduction of the GM Autorama Corvette/Nomad combination that GM never produced. It combines the great early styling of the Corvette with the Nomad body lines. The engine appeared to be a 283 with dual quads under the hood.

ONE EXPENSIVE 1971-1/2 CAMARO

You may have seen a news article on Papa John Schnatter, the founder of the Papa John's pizza chain, who was recently united with his first Camaro. He originally sold it back in 1983 while living in Indiana. Originally, he offered a $25,000 finders fee, then upped it to a cool $250,000.

The car was recently found in Kentucky about 200 miles from his home. While many of us may agree the finders fee was quite high, it has also gotten Papa John some free publicity in the various news markets.

I recall a story that was told to me by a GTO owner who was able to locate the GTO he had sold years ago. Fortunately, he was able to track it down and buy it back.

During the restoration progress, he wanted to locate an original 1969 license plate for the state where he lived. While at a swap meet, he bought a 1969 license plate.

Once he got the 1969 license plate back home, he happen to compare it to some photos he had of his car back in 1969. He discovered that he had actually purchased the license plate that was on his car originally!

Can you imagine how everything had to fall in place for that coincidence to happen? Keep in mind, this was 10-12 years later that he bought his original car back and then by attending a swap meet happen to buy his own 1969 license plate back!

LOOKING FOR A CAR IN YOUR PAST

As a car collector, I'm sure many of you had thoughts of trying to locate your first car or one that had special meaning in your youth. There may be many reasons why you would love to get a special vehicle back.

I have been driving 45 years now. I in that time I have bought close to 100 cars that I have licensed and tagged. Works out to having bought about 2 cars every year. There are about 5 cars that I regret selling.

Every year I attend major car shows in my area, and I keep an eye out for cars I've personally owned at one time. There are two in particular that were show quality when I sold them locally, but I have never seen them again. One was a 1947 Studebaker pickup truck that won every time I showed it. The other was a 1949 Olds Club Coupe.

Even this past weekend, I attended a local large street rod event that had over 1,000 cars in attendance. No black 1949 Olds 76 Club Coupe.

On the bright side, one of my favorites was the 1967 Ram Air 400 Firebird I owned. Fortunately, the person that bought this car from me over a dozen years ago still owns it and has hardly driven it. He stays in touch as he recently purchased dual piston brake calipers from us for the car. (His wife assures me that when he dies, I will be contacted first!)

I once had a chance to buy the very first Corvette I owned about 3 years after I sold it. I could have bought it for $900. The year was 1969 and I was still in the service and could not afford it.

Back in the 1970s and 1980s I would go "junk yarding," looking for parts to sell. It was sad on at least two occasions when I actually come across a car that I used to own in the junk yard.

One car I would like to buy is a 1949-1950 Ford Club Coupe or Business Coupe as they are called. I had one that I paid $200 for when I worked pumping gas while still in high school. I don't need to find the exact same car, but I like to have one to bring back those memories and smell that 40-50-year-old cloth interior, turn on the am radio and wait a few minutes for it to come on, or watch the wipers work at different speeds depending on how you drive (they were vacuum operated).

While it's true no one can turn back the clock, as you get older, many of us seek something from the past. Maybe it's the hunt? Every car show I attend I look at the 1949-1950 Ford Coupes. The car can even be a little rough... after all, the $200 one I had in high school was not a showpiece either. I'll find one eventually, since I enjoy the hunt!

So, those of you that are still young, keep a record of the VIN number of your car/truck before you sell it and move on. Who knows, someday you may want to hunt it down and the VIN number is the major clue you will need.

At the recent "Corvettes at Carlisle" event I did come across a company that specializes in locating your long lost car. They specialize on Corvettes, but may be helpful for other models as well. The company is called Auto Ancestry - phone number 508-272-0245 - website - www.AutoAncestry.com

THE BEST SELLING CAR IN THE USA FOR 2008

Does anyone have a guess as to what big or small car was the best-selling car? My question is probably misleading, but the best selling car was actually a toddler-powered toy car... the one that has the red body with the yellow roof. It was reported that in 2008 sales figures were 467,000, which was 20,000 more than any of the best selling adult cars in the USA. Don't you wish you had invented that little toddler car?

GNX EXHAUST UPDATE

I just checked with Richard Clark the other day on this latest project. I was able to get him a great deal on a bulk buy of highly polished center-to-center mufflers for the GNX exhaust system.

This has been the hold up, since ATR is no longer in business. He has tested these mufflers and they flow about twice more CFM over the original GNX mufflers. He does have to modify the one muffler to clear the ladder bar, similar to what ASC did originally.

If you own a GNX, you will want one of these all-stainless systems. Your original exhaust system may not show any problems externally. However, Richard has seen GNX mufflers that rot internally from not being driven.

We fully expect to have them available before the end of September. These will fit perfectly with the same style angle cut and correct exit using the GM hangers. I have seen these mufflers and they are polished to a mirror finish. So much so, you could read a book in the reflection!

It has been very difficult to locate a center-to-center muffler with a very short body and still have it look like a muffler.

Watch for updates.

NEW PART COMING

If you have a 1984-1987 Turbo Regal with the standard analog dash, you know in the bottom left corner of the dash it says, "LOW FUEL."

This was a Riviera option, which shares our same dash. It was never offered on the Turbo Regals but could be made to function by simply installing the special light socket that had the printed circuit board on the back. The same local source that made our new L.E.D. dash light setup now has a functional low fuel warning in the works. It will light up in the dash when you are low on fuel. It will even go one step further... when your fuel tank is very low, it will flash. The technology today has come a long way since 1984-1987, so this one will include a new light socket and have a small circuit board with prongs that will connect to the backside of the gas gauge.

Installation will be very easy, and will only require you to pull your dash cluster out a short distance on the left side to do the installation. Watch for an introductory price later this month!

This would be a great time to step up to the new L.E.D. dash lights as well, since the install is about the same for both items.

Again, both of these are ONLY for the standard analog-style dash cluster.

FROM PETE HOFFMAN - Continuing Tech Information

Pete's third segment in a series dealing with troubleshooting powermaster problems will be in next week's Inner Circle. He is still verifying information.

Part #6775 - 1984-1987 Regal - GM Signal Lamps (2) are now $109 for the pair.

SPECIAL SELL OUT

We have the 1986-1987 Turbo Regal - GM Air Flow Duct (from turbo to MAF sensor), Part #6536 in stock for $61.95. Just a few left now.

CAR FOR SALE

Locally, to us (about 10 miles away), a good customer of ours is selling his 1986 Grand National. Tom is having health issues and needs to sell his pride and joy. The Grand National on the outside looks identical to a real GNX, with the flares, louvers, emblems and wheels. (My son Darrell actually painted and installed the flares for him).

The body was taken down to bare metal and painted several years ago prior to Tom buying the car. The interior is quite nice. The engine compartment needs detailing. For more info, contact Tom Altmose directly at 610-253-8659. He is asking $14,900 or best offer. I recently have seen the car personally. It does have some minor modifications under the hood, like a cold air system.

CALENDER OF EVENTS
2009 UPCOMING BUICK RELATED EVENTS

NOTE - If you know of a GM or Buick Turbo event for this year, let us know and we can post it in our weekly Turbo Regal Inner Circle so our members are aware of the event.

The best way to stay informed with the show season is to check out the various Turbo Buick forums.

ZDDPlus™ is also one of the 2 major sponsors for this year's F.A.S.T. events along with Nationals Parts Depot. This is another nationally recognized event that features stock appearing muscle cars. Here is the link to the F.A.S.T. events web site -
www.fastraces.org/members/fastraces/fastraces.nsf/top-menu-items/ghp16

THIS WEEKEND -
HEMMINGS MUSCLE MACHINES presents MUSCLEPALOOZA X - Englishtown, New Jersey
Labor Day Weekend - Saturday & Sunday, SEPTEMBER 5 & 6, 2009 Old Bridge Township Raceway Park - F.A.S.T. Race Series National Events Sponsored by ZDDPlus™ and National Parts Depot. We will be there selling ZDDPlus™. We will also have used Turbo Regal parts for sale. This event also features the 20th Buick Performance Weekend. The Northeast Chapter of the GSCA Buick Club will have their regular Quick 16 Class with over $2500 in cash awards. They will also be paying money to the Buicks that run the furthest in each of the Musclepalooza classes on Sunday. This event will be bigger than ever before with the addition of Hemmings Muscle Machines coming and the F.A.S.T race class cars. We will be set up with ZDDPlus and many Turbo Regal used parts as well.

The East Coast Buick Regionals and Pontiac Challenge will be held OCTOBER 16th and 17th, 2009 at Cecil County Dragway, Maryland. It features 5 different race classes for V8 and Turbo-powered Buicks. Friday is Test and Tune and Saturday is Buick Race Day. For more information, contact Doug Dougherty 302-653-2201 or John Csordas 845-528-GSGN or Griff Atkinson 410-472-2757.

The Oklahoma Buick Performance Club will hold it's 15th year, Team Buick vs Team Ford Headsup Shootout on OCTOBER 17, 2009. Team Buick includes Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Cadillac, and GMC trucks with any engine or power adder. This will be at Thunder Valley Raceway Park, Noble, Oklahoma. A first time TSM event will also be held with some pre-qualifying Friday night the 16th. More information - www.okbuicks.com - www.turbobuick.com (National Racing Events and Info) Personal contact: Dick Walker, 405-745-3602 - rwalker96@cox.net

The Southern Buick Shootout 2009 event at the Silver Dollar Raceway is scheduled for November 6th and 7th, 2009. This event will be open to any and all BUICK, OLDS, PONTIAC cars. The event will include a points race for the TSO and TSM categories, as well as other potential Buick categories.

The plan is to have heads-up / index pacing available for those racers that cannot run in TSM/TSO categories. They also plan to have Gamblers Racing for both Sportsman type cars (no delay boxes allowed) and Top Eliminator (delay Box). The will be Test-N-Tune all day both days. If you have questions, email - sydwyndr@triad.rr.com

Any inquiries concerning used parts, you must email me direct - denniskirban@yahoo.com - I will answer you. However, if I fail to answer you within 24 hours, please email us again. Since expanding into used parts, I get a lot of emails and sometimes I may forget your request or not remember who requested the item.

IN CLOSING

Remember, we will be set up with many used Turbo Regal parts at the upcoming 20th Buick Performance Weekend at Raceway Park in Englishtown, NJ. This is held in conjunction with Hemmings Musclepalooza and F.A.S.T racing event ( ZDDPlus™ is one of the two major sponsors.) We will have ZDDPlus™ and the new ZPaste™ available. Our plan is to be there both days. We will have some great bargains on large items that we rather not ship.

Looking further ahead, November 7th and 8th we will be in Ocala, Florida at Don Garlits 22nd Annual Mopar event. We'll be one of his special guests as a vendor selling ZDDPlus™ and the ZPaste™. We plan to contact the local Buick club and several of the Pontiac/GTO clubs in Florida to arrange a seminar in that general area at that time. Watch for more updates as the time draws closer. We hope to see many of our Florida customers at that time.

For more information, check out the website for the Mopar Florida club that puts on this Mopar event at Don Garlits Museum - www/floridamoparassociation.com